Method and apparatus for treating crude oil emulsions from oil wells



July 1, 1952 R. w. ERWIN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING CRUDE OIL EMULSIONS FROM OIL WELLS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 24. 1948 WA.- wwwN July l, 1952 R w, ERW|N 2,601,903

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING CRUDE l OIL EMULSIONS' FROM OIL WELLS Filed Feb. 24, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I mimmummqmi H m 3mm f' i /m a M July 1, 1,952 R. w. ERwlN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING CRUDE OIL EMULSIONS FROM OIL WELLS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 24, 1948 :lllllllll ll'l llllllll mimi/'225 2M @4M/m @Home/Ly R. W. ERWIN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING CRUDE July 1, 1952` OIL EMULSIONS FROM OIL WELLS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 24, 1948 Patented July 1, 19h52 METHOD ANDr APPARATUSv FOR. TREATING- CRUDE OIL EMUIJSIONS FROIVI OIL WELLS Ransome, W. Dallas, Tex., assignon to Salt Water Conti-01,.,Inc.,l Fort Worth, Tex., aA

corporation of. i'TeXas Application FebruaryY 24, 1948, SeriallNo; 10,508

The. invention..-.re1ates;; tof-...i ,provernents;Y in method and apparatus; for treating.v crude. oil emulsions iromoil wells; andisinthe naturevof anl improvementv on theV methodl andapparatus disclosed.y in ;my prior; application.'v Serial No.; 713,708, led December 3 ,-.1946;of 1whichrtheprese ent application. is .la continuationnin'` part; v e

In. common. withi the.- disclosure or. my prior application the. improved method ist. pyleflably' carried out in. connection with: -a horizontal; treater which includes a plurality ofindividuarl. chambers or zones, includingl (1); aheating chamber.` wherein heat is. suppliehto'Y the fluid4 to; be; treated andf wherein alportioni ofgthezgas is re;- moved; (2) a baiilin'g chamber or.v Washingfzone, the. primary. function. of whichf is to break .up/,the emulsion and tol atleast;partially` separateithe oil andwaterfconstituents,thereof` prior to thejirfV passage to the next;treating zone; (3) a filtering and settling-zone which, receives uids 'from the. washing. zone and brine fromthewater knock..- out zone, in which zone the oil isk iilt'eredjj'and `from the ltop of'. which clean; oil isnvithdrawn,

after.V .which the yoilk is.. cooled; .'preferablyfby, heat interchange .with the incoming,fluid to be/.treatedi in the heating. chambenwater.l or brine. being. withdrawn from the lower portionof the filtering; or Settling zone ;V and'A (4.) aJreef knockoutzwater chamberV into: which. the v'crude .emulsion which., has been preheated by heat interchange .with the outgoingztreated oil.and.with thehot-liqu'ids in the heating.l chamber: is discharged; .inl` whichj knockout chamberseparation. of freeiwater `from 1 the. emulsion takes t place' as. Well ag separation. of a. portion ofth'e gas containedzinizthe uidtobe treated. In accordance with the i specic f embodiment of my inventionL asdisclosedininyl prior.y applii.;y cation:` the treater.v is .in the formi f anlelongated hor-zontalgcasing divided/lengthwise by meansj of `Tsuitablepartitions; or plates Ainto the" several horizontally aligned zones, with. fthe" :heating chamber at one end and theriwateriknockout cham-ben .at .the` other, andlwithl the Eunasini'igearid ltering. zones interposed between theltwoend.- zones. In accordanc'elwitlrthepresentembodi- 2v; claims. (01.183423 )V h 2V chamber are; arranged eyond the heating'l and knockout zones,A and theltering and settling chamber,v which, in thel embodimeni'fv set forth in my-` prior application, are combined'in substan-v tially one zone, arein the presentl device, shown as separated-,intoetwo more or'less'distinct zones 3p* Zonfesf them/atoms.. dropped.- outoff thoomulsion...

orchambers, Other distinctivefeatures of; the; present devicewill Y'be apparent asVv the present 4 descriptionproceeds, I f

OBJECTS O-F- ITBIVEN'IIOVBT,A

. (1 An important object of the invention is.

the provision of mechanical improvements in the froowatorknookout apoorotusfadaptedzfor both Verticaland horizontal types of f emulsionv treatf..

'simpler construction, more efficientf spreading with minimum agitation, more eiiicient intro-A ductionfof| oil into'theheating chamber from= rthejkrlockfmi.- Mamba` better water, pickup. fof

cilities from-the` knockoutl chamberY with mini` mum localized channelingforj.- suction, morey eiiig-f' cient minglingof returned hot waterwith inconr., ingv fluids=to thev knockout chamber, and toprov-AY vide apparatus that may be cleaned With'mini.

mumlaborand'ordiiculty.

(2)y Ar further. imp ortant` ob'jectis to provide., a .sii nple .means and method forv removingWater; fromga horizontal type` emulsion treating systemono .tosororidofmoono for roiurninsiitio@other lower-- pressure settling. zorlofof the Somers'ystom Here entrainedi oil is floated fr omi waterasfit. 17er.; joins. ther oil; stream.. flowing; WtIriti, but not mixing; looltlif'oilA and. Water; going; to;ana1' sete; tlingxzone where-each; is withdrawn.` separatelyy from said zone:

3) A further object is to provide; forced nas-- Saso ofoiiemulsionand entrained; gas through.

` porous.4 or perforated...snroadorsv, in one ormoroi ment."l on thefxinvntiong. .'onftlie. other r-hand. the

heatingchamberf andi the knockoutlchamber; are

arranged .'infj fsiperposed relation;A adjacent.;

heating ;.zone. cbeine..located-'.dirooolknockout chamber, and loot-lrv boue ei eine surroundolds kbit-.a1V heat mtorohanee; jacket-.1.. The .Washinsior 1 baiiiing cliamberfand the; filtering;-andasettiine Siloce diria Wash, zones as. described in; plieation;.SerialV No.,v 7.133.083. but; with. annaddoili improvement `consisting of continuous; andv auto-v1 f maticL removal of; water from oooh:2.0.1.1r.:asitiis separated; from; theoilfand. emulsions mixtoro-.

Bvromov, howaterin; is. but; oil-i emulsion# 'ancreasfpisfy forced through .h

evil of re-emulsifying the oil with the water that has once been separated from it. Other emulsion treating systems provide for removal of water from each wash zone, but all such systems with which I am familiar are gravity flow systems and do not provide forced flow of oil and emulsions through succeeding wash zones; hence the gravitational removal of water in such systems is simple, forthright and requires no novel means such as will be disclosed in this invention.

Moreover, removal of water from each zone assures minimum and decreasing emulsion load on each succeeding zone as it pursues its path through the wash system. This water removal,

in accordance with my invention, is accomplished automatically and without use of moving parts or mechanisms by employing inverted U type gas vented water legs, either adjustable or nonadjustable, which may be located either inside the wash zone or outside connected in through openings, with sufficient liquid seal on the drain risers to prevent normal entrained gas volumes from breaking through and flowing with the withdrawn water. By having these drain risers suniciently high to do this, the. gas, oil and emulsion can-pursue but one path'which is the desired onegthrough the restricted porous or perforated s'preaders in each wash zone. Thus the Water passes over the vented inverted U as it is released from the emulsion, maintaining a definite oil-water level in the wash zone, and avoiding remixing or re-emulsifying oil and water. Y y

'(4) Still another object is the breaking down of oil-waterI emulsions, separating the oil and Water from' each other by any conventional settling andwashing means, withdrawing the Water ,from the oil prior-to succeeding Washing and baiting, then rejoining the oil and water in separate fiowing strata; passing both strata through a common filter, deterrent or impediment medium prior to entering the final settling zone, In this impedimentf'or' filtering zone entrained water in theV oil Aisf'coalescedV and dropped out to the flowing stratum or Water beneath, and entrained oil in the water'is scrubbed and floated out of the water p'assinglinto the flowing oil stratum above. This isbest accomplished in my horizontal treater as will lbe shown, automatically and without resort to valves','floats or other means with moving 5) A further object is to provide an insulating and cushioning layer of gas between the oil zone and'V the -partition separating the free water knockout l'fror'rrtl'ieheating chamber. `This=`gas zonej-hasthree important functions, as follows: Y

layer of emulsion, permitting excessv 'absorbed'l and entrained gases' toi-break out' -of solution',

thereby permitting their yseparation |from the-oil andE emulsion.

` Tliethickness of by'theverticallocation'of vent holes in the emulsioniA feeder "uppipsii-which convey oil `and emulsion-from 'ree'waterknockout zone to the vspreaders -in the he'ating zone. Should 'there'be anex'cessofJ gas that the ventv holes 'are-unable this gas-zone' is: determined to handle, then it forms a thicker layer and vents through a special conduit that conveys it up through the heating chamber, discharging it into a gas space above the liquids in the heating chamber.

(6) Another object is to provide a means and method of safely and simply by-passing surplus gas around the spreader wash zones, thereby avoiding overloading of same, taking the gas from one part of the flow system (the heating zone) and returning it to another part with minimum disturbance to the liquids therein. This is accomplished by permitting surplus gas to travel with the water from the free water knockout, once suicient back pressure to break the liquid seal in water by-pass has been formed, and introducing Water and gas into a vertical conduit that permits gas to bubble up through it without agitating the water-oil strata in this zone. The water is discharged from the lower part of this conduit, the gas from the top end which protrudes into the gas zone of this introduction chamber. Normally, if a moderate amount of gas enters with the oil, emulsion and water into the treating system, the gas will travel with the oil and emulsion through the spreaders and wash zones. This obtains because of the gas pressure resistant water liquid seal in the down pipes leading to the water by-pass line which is broken only when introduction of surplus gas causes excess pressures to build up.

(7) A further object is provision of means for thoroughly cleansing the Vgas ofL mists, foams, etc., by passing it through a common filter or impediment medium with the oil and waterY streams, vwithout mixing with either oil or water. Sofar as I am aware this can. be accomplished onlyin a system with horizontal flow as depicted with novelty in this disclosure. `Thus the entrained mist or foam knocked out ofthe 'gas falls directly into the flowing oil stratum where it rightly belongs.

(8) Another object is the provision of controlled and automatic discharge `of gas from the system by use of a Afioat actuated gasdischarge valve located in the final oil-water settling zone. Surplus gas Amay be thus handled, whereas smaller,` unimportant volumesV of gas may be allowed to p'ass on with treated oil to the stock tanks. .i

(9) .AnotherA object of this E invention is to facilitate 'cleaning and inspection of conduits and zones by having alliwater discharging conduits attached only. to manway covers of each zone cleanout manway, making them easily removable from the vessel. y

The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings and Y the Yfollowing vdetailed description, in which a 'specific embodiment of the inventive thoughtis set forth by Way ofvillustration rather than by way` of limitation.

Fig'. .li'sva vertical longitudinal section. largely diagrammatic in character, of my entire system. parts being shown in elevation;

Fig. -2 is-avertical longitudinal View on a largerportions of' the with a portion of the adjacent balingchamber or zone; and y Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section on the line-5 5 of Fig. 1, but on thescale of Figs. 2-to 4,

inclusive. y

As shown, the treater comprises an elongated horizontal tank I which constitutes the main treating vessel, and this preferably includes three principal chambers or zones A, B and C arranged in horizontal alignment from left to right. The zone A at the right-hand of the treater is a combined heating and knockout zone and is subdivided by a horizontal perforated partition I2 into an upper or heating chamber A1 and a lower knockout chamber or zone A2, the whole zone Al being surrounded by an annular heat exchanger A3 which serves to preheat the untreated emulsion entering the system and to cool the treated hot clean oil from which water and gas have been removed, prior to the iinal discharge of the cooled clean oil from the system. The zone B intermediate the zones A and C is separated from the zone A by a partition 22 and comprises the bailiing or washing zone. The zone B is divided into sub-zones and is provided with a plurality of upright pipes having perforated, serrated or porous outlets tcfacilitate the washing and baffling operation, each pipe discharging into ya chamber or section of the composite zone which is separated from thenext zone by a partition similar to the partition which separates the zone B from the zone A. Any desired number of pipes and sub-chambers may be employed in connection with the washing or baffling 'zone-B.

The washing or baiiiing zone is separated from the filtering or settling zone or chamber C by av partition 9, while a pair of porous plates or partitions 33 and 33 divide the major ltering and settling zone C into sub-zones or compartments C1, C2 and C3. The compartmentV C1 Y may be termed the water receiving sub-zone and extends between the partitions 30 and 33, while compartment C2 extends between two porous plates 33 and 33 and may contain any suitable ltering means, such as excelsion'glasswool, or the like, and may be referred to more particularly as a iilterng portion of the zone C, although settling also takes place within this subzone.v As shown, glass wool is employed in the gas zone and wood excelsior is employed inthe oil and water zones of the iiltering chamber. The sub-zone C3 extends from the perorated plate 33 to the end of the treater and may be referred to as the final settling chamber. From the top portion of this settling chamber surplus gas may be withdrawn from the system,while brine or water separated from the uid being treated is withdrawn from the lower vportion of the chamber, and from the intermediate portion of the chamber clean oil'is withdrawn, which, after preheating the incoming emulsion passing through the heat exchanger A3, is discharged from the system and passed to storage. f

It will be noted that a gas layer or zone D extends along the entire upper portion of the treating -vessel or tank I, including the topl portions of each of the zones A, B and C,.sovthat the entire system is subject to gas pressure, and it will be further noted that this gas zone is connected with inverted U-pipes E and E at either end of the treater, also designated by numerals 44 and 6I, which are utilized for controlling the oil-water level in the heating chamber Al and in the finalsettling zone C3, respectively.'

Some of the principal zones of the apparatus having been briefly described principally by the use of reference letters in order to give an idea of the general arrangement and operation of the device, a more detailed description of parts will follow, in which reference numerals will also be employed to describe particular parts or elements of the system.

Commencing with the zone A, the heat exchanger A3 which surrounds the right-hand end of the main horizontal treating vessel I comprises an inner annular space 2 through which untreated fluid containing oil, emulsion, g-as and water is supplied to the system, which inner space is separated by means of a jacket 3 completely or substantially surrounding the main vessel, from an outer annular space 4 through which hot treated oil is passed in the heat interchange relation to the incoming emulsion, etc., prior to discharge of the treated material from the system and passage to an oil storage tank or the like.

The incoming iiuid under flowing pressure and comprising an'oil-water emulsion, together with untreated oil, gas and water, is supplied to the inner space 2 througnan inlet pipe t leading from a source of supply such as an oil well, or from a gas separator or the like (not shown). The incoming fluid is preheated not only by interchange with the outgoing oil in the outer space Il, but also by heat interchange with the contents of the tank in the upper or heating zone A1 and in the lower or free water knockout zone A2. The preheated emulsion, etc., under nowing pressure passes from the space 2 through 2 through a top opening 1 at the opposite end fof the jacket from the inlet E and thence passes downwardly through a downpipe 8 which leads to a spreader which, in turn, discharges the preheated emulsion etc. into an emulsion zone I9 located intermediate a brine containing zone or layer 40 at the bottom of the tank and an'upper gas layer II which underlies the partition I2 dividing the water knockout chamber A2 from the upper heating zone A1. Emulsion from the zone I9 is discharged into the lower portion of the heating zone A1 through short upright pipes I i having their entrance openings I3 at the lower limit of the zone I0. Each of the pipes I4 is provided with one or more gas vent openings I5 located below the horizontal partition `IZ for removing a normal amount of gas formed beneath the partition I2. The distance of these openings I5 vertically below the partition I2 determines the thickness of the gas zone -II when only a small volume of gasY is present. Preferably, the pipes I4 are arranged in one or more longitudinally extending rows, two being shown in Fig. 5, and spreaders IB are provided for each row, which spreaders may be perforated, slotted cr serrated. A simple and cheap form of spreader is a perforated inverted steel'channelr IS with the ends capped. Each spreader I6 may lie loosely over the tops of its respective row of pipes. I4, or it may be bolted or welded to the partition I2. One or more of these spreaders may be employed, each preferably underlying a heating element I'I within theN heating zone A1. The heating element I'l may be o any suitable design or shape, but a tri-tube` design such as is disclosed in my copending' application Serial No. 587,387, nled April 9,1945, now Patent No. 2,495,673, dated January 24,1959, is preferred. The heating element I'Ishould be substantially immersed in a brine layer I8 which extends from the top of the partition I2V to an oil-emulsion layer I9, above which is located a gas zone or layer 20 forming part of the upper gas zone D which extends along the top of the entire treating tank, as previously described.

As also previously described, a partition 22 separates the zone A from the Washing and baffling zone B. An outlet pipe 2|, the entrance to which passes through said partition 22, connects the zones A and B and serves to conduct oil, emulsion and gas from the upper portion of the heating chamber A1 with the first section or sub-chamber of the washing zone B. The thickness of the gas layer 28 in the zone A1 and of the entire gas layer D Within the treater I is regulated by the position of the entrance to the outlet pipe 2|. This pipe discharges into the section '24 through a perforated, serrated or porous outlet 23 located at the bottom of the pipe 2|.

As shown, the washing zone includes sub-sections each including a downpipe similar to the pipe 2| and each provided with a perforated, serrated or porous outlet similar to the outlet 23.

The top portion of the rst section 24 of the washing zone is connected with the next section through a pipe 25 similar in function and structure Ito the pipe 2|, which pipe 25 passes through a partition 26 and discharges through an outlet 2l similar to outlet 23 into the second section or sub-chamber 28 of the washing zone. In the top of the sub-chamber 28 a third downpipe 29 similar to pipes '2| and 25 leads through a partition 30 into the lower or brine zone 3| of the iinal settling-filtering by-passed water receiving chamber C, above which is a clean oil zone or layer 32. As previously pointed out, the chamber C is divided into three sub-chambers C1, C2 and C3 by the perforated plates 33 and 33 which define the ltering zone C2, which may, if desired, contain excelsior or other suitable filtering media. By-passed water from the water knockout zone A2 may be delivered to the rst or Water receiving section CIl of the Zone C while iiltering is performed within the section C2 and clean oil, gas and brine may be separately Withdrawn from diierent levels of the iinal settling sub-zone C3.

For withdrawing clean oil from the treater an oil outlet pipe 34, preferably elongated and perforated to prevent localized channeling or suction effect, is provided leading from the upper portion of sub-zone 63. This outlet pipe extends horizontally along the top of the clean oil layer in the sub-zone C3 at its juncture with the upper gas zone 35, the depth of which gas layer is de-v termined by the vertical location of the outlet pipe 34, and by a iioat control outlet valve 84 which regulates the discharge of gas from the zone 35.

From the perforated pipe 34 a downpipe 34a leads to a horizontal pipe 35 which connects at 37 with the outer annular space 4 of the heat exchanger A3. Oil is discharged from the top of the annulus 4 through an outlet pipe 38 leading to a place of storage or use.

Considering now the sub zone A. means are provided near the left hand end of said zone A for returning hot water or brine from the upper heating zone A1 to the lower knockout zone A2. As best shown in Fig. 5, a pair of curved downpipes 39, 39 are provided for this purpose eX- tending inwardly from the outer portion of the tank and having their inlets within the heating zone A1 just above partition I2, and their outlets near the center of the tank in the emulsion layer or zone l 0 of the knockout chamber A2, said pipes being curved or bent intermediate their ends. As shown, the left hand return pipe 39 discharges directly beneath the spreader 9 and the right hand return pipe 39 discharges adjacent the spreader. If desired both pipes could discharge beneath the spreader 9 or both adjacent the spreader. Any desired number of return pipes may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The thickness of the brine layer 40 within the lower portion of the water knockout chamber A2 is determined by the level of the lower ends of the oil pipes |4 which communicate with the heating zone I8 within the upper chamber A1 Leading outwardly from the brine chamber 40 and the Water knockout zone A2 is an elongated horizontal brine pickup pipe 4| through which brine may be withdrawn from the knockout zone for return to the system in the first section C1 of the settling and ltering chamber C. As shown the perforated pipe 4| is connected to an outlet pipe 42 passing through a manway lid and leading to the control device E comprising an inverted U-tube 44 provided with unions 45 at each end to permit pivotal swinging of the U-tube to adjust its upper level and also to permit removal of the U-tube and of the pipes connected thereto.

A water conduit 46 leads from the U-tube 44 to a liquid level riser pipe 49 which delivers the brine to a gas conduit cylinder 82 within the water receiving chamber C1 of the settling zone C. A gas conduit 4l, preferably flexible, connects the top of the U-tube 44 with a gas outlet 48 leading from the gas zone 29 at the top of the heating chamber. This arrangement provides an outlet for surplus gas from the zone 29 and also permits gas venting the top of the U-tube 44.

As previously stated the brine passing over U- tube 44 is returned to the system through pipes 46 and 49, the latter re-entering the treating tank through the lid of a manway 89 located in the bottom of the tank. The brine is discharged into the riser 82, the top of which opens into gas conduit 19 and is discharged from the riser 82 into a wash and discharge zone chamber T8 through an outlet opening 5D at the bottom of the riser 82. Zone numerically designated 18 corresponds generally with the water receiving zone C1 of the settling chamber C.

Vented U-tubes for returning brine from which oil has been separated in the sub-chambers 24 and 28 of the washing and baffling zone B may be connected to the return pipe 46 leading from the knockout chamber and discharged into the ltering and settling zone C. As shown the tube for withdrawing brine from the chamber 24 comprises an inlet leg or pipe 5| open at the bottom located within the brine zone and connected by horizontal connection 52 passing through the oil zone above the brine zone to the downpipe 54 which passes downwardly through the oil and brine zones and connects with the conduit 46. A gas vent 53 may be provided at the top of the pipe 54 opening into the upper gase zone at the top of the treater.

Similarly, an inlet pipe 55 open at its lower portion serves to draw brine from the wash zone 28, said inlet pipe being connected at 5E to a downpipe 58 vented at its top at 51 and discharging at its lower end into the conduit 45 leading to the ltering and settling chamber C.

In order to facilitate passage of brine through the filtering zone C2 (8D) inlets and discharge openings 59 and 59' are provided in the lower i ends of the perforated plates 33 and 33' which deine said filter zone. f

Brine may be finally withdrawn from the treater through a perforated pipe 60 located near the bottom of the tank within the settling zone at the left hand end of the tank. A U-tube 6I pivotally adjustable by means of rotatable unions 82 is interposed between the pipe 68 and a pipe leading to storage. In the outlet connection there is preferably provided a liquid seal Water outlet control valve 63. A flexible pipe or hose 64 is shown as connecting the top of the inverted U- tube 6I with the gasl zone 35 through connection 65.

Access to the interior of the tank may be had at suitable intervals through manways having removable lids. Thus, for example, a manhole 66 in the bottom of the tank provides access to the final settling zone C3 adjacent brine outlet pipe '50, also upper and lower manways 61 and 68 provide access to the filtering zone C2 (80) and lower manways 89, I9 and 'II in the bottom of the tank provide access to the gas conduit cylinder 82 and to the individual chambers 28 and 24, respectively, of the washing and bailling zone B.

In order to permit removal of the brine return pipes 46, 49, 54 and 58 from the treater suitable unions l2, 'I3 and 13 may be provided in addition to unions 45, 45 at each side of the inverted U-tube 44 which connects the pipe 45 to the perforated brine removal pipe within the knockout chamber 82.

Any suitable means may be employed for supplying heat to the contents of the chamber A1. As shown, the heating element I'I yis provided vnth an outlet pipe I4 which passes through a manway cover 15. Heat is supplied through a burner or burners 'I6 located within the lower tube or tubes of the heating element.

As best shown in Fig. 5, the discharge ends of the hot water return pipes 39 may be either connected to the perforated spreader pipe 9 of the oil return system, as indicated at 11, or may open near the pipe 9, both arrangements being shown.

For the purpose of numerical identification the sub-zone C1 between the wall portion 30 at the end of the washing bone B and the rst perforated partition 33 of filtering chamber may be referred to as a wash and discharge zone chamber and is designated by the numeral 'I8. The gas zone above the Wash zone 'I8 has beendesignated by the'numeral 19. The lter section C2 formed by the partitions 33 and 33 may contain wood excelsior and/ or glass wool or other suitableV ltering media and may be numerically designated 89 for the purpose of` identification. The perforated outlet for the oil downpipe 29 entering the wash chamber 'I8 maybe numerically designated BI and the gas conduit cylinder also located within the chamber 'I8 and into which the brine return pipe 49 discharges is numerically designated 82.

Within the zone A at the right of the treater surplus gas from the gas layer Il in the knock-Y out chamber beneath the horizontal partition I2 may be discharged through pipe 83 into the upper gas zone 2i) at the top of the heating zone A1.

Gas may be withdrawn from the top of the settling sub-chamber C3 at the extreme left of the treater through outlet conduit 86 passing through manway cover 85, the said outlet'conduit being controlled by a float actuated valve 84 Within the chamber, the float portion of which is carried by the oil layer 32 within the settling chamber.

AI0 OPERATION (a) Oil, gas and emulsion Oil, emulsion, gas and water under pressure enter the system through an inlet pipe 6 which enters the inner chamber of the heat exchange jacket A3. The fluid passes up and around the vessel I through annulus 2 where it is preheated partly by the hot fluids within the heatingzone I8 through the wall of vessel Land partly by hot clean oil in outer annulus 4V through jacketwall 3. The preheated fluid passes out of annulus 2 into pipe 8 through opening l. Then it travels down to spreader 9, out into oil-emulsion zone I0. The gas layer II-under partition I2 comprises formerly entrained gas released from the emulsion and oil. This gas accumulates to a layer thickness governed by vertical location of vent hole I5 in the oil spill pipe I4. Shouldmore gas be produced than the vent holes I5 can handle, conduit 83 which. extends slightly below venthole I5 will conduct surplus gas to zone 20 without agitating the oil-water strata in the heating zone I8. Oil and emulsion lie under the gaslayer be-` neath the partition I2 in a layer, allowing entrained water to drop out into the brine layer 40 and entrained gas to weather out, then the oil and emulsion pass upward through the pipe I4 at inlet I3 and out and into' spreader I5 in the heating zone. The fluid leaves the spreader. I6 in fine streamlets to be introduced into 1 hot washing zone I8 above the partition I2. vThereafter the uid lies in a layer 'I 9 beneath the upper-gas zone 20 near'upper part of heating zone at F. YThe thickness of this impure roil layer is governed by means of theadjustable inverted `U water outlet 44. Here in the 'zone I9 more water is dropped out due to washing and heating of the oil Vemulsion mixture, and more gas 'is weathered vout into zone 20 due to heating of the oil-emulsion mixture. This hot water or brine is returned by gravity to the emulsion zone of the free water knockout chamber A2 below the partition I2 through pipe 39, where it mixes Awith the-emulsion, water and oil in and discharging'from pipe 9 at outlet 'Il'. Thus this hotreturned water-contributes all of its heatto the incoming fluids, thereby saving this heat and aiding in the `-free water removing process which is always enhanced bythe addition of heat. By having the water return pipe 39 bend from the vertical enough to become horizontaly and preferably evento turn upward with its outlet 'I'I it becomes impossible for the lighter oil or emulsion in layer l0 to discharge upwardly through pipe 39. Thus the oil and emulsion must travel as'desired up through pipe I4, and oflerno counteriiow resistance to returning hot water through pipe 39. This solves the problem of introducing this `hot water back into the midst of the emulsion without ill effects.

When the oil and emulsion mixture are heated within the upper chamber A1 above thev partition I2 gas entrained or in ysolution is released-and accumulates in the upper part of heatingcha'mber in zone 2B. I have found that a reasonable amount of gas thus produced may be carriedon with oil and emulsion through succeeding washing zones without any ill effects on the de-emulsifying or washing process. However, this gas should ibe separated or allowed to break out of the oil prior toentering the oil into the nal settling zone. This is accomplished in wash and discharge zone *I8. Should it prove desirable as in some cases to remove gas .in heatingzone A1 be- 1.1 fore entering the Wash zones, this may be effected as disclosed in my application Serial No. 713,708 by the use of a float actuated gas relief valve. Handling of a sudden overload of excess gas will be described hereinafter.

The oil, emulsion and gas leave Vheating chamber A1 at G, go down through pipe 2l in partition 22 and discharge through spreader 23 at Hrunder a pressure differential existing between wash zone 24 and heating zone i8. This pressure difference breaks the oil and emulsion up into many ne streamlets as the iiuid passes through the perforations in the spreader 23 which' give more washing surface contact between the entering oil-emulsion and the hot brine wash water layer in the bottom of the tank. This washing-contacting is thus much more thorough and efficient here than in conventional emulsion treate'rs where gravity flow due to difference in density of oil and water is the sole driving force of the oil through spreading or dispersing mechanisms. In this zone (24) water broken from the emulsion and washed out of the oil drops out and its course will be described hereinafter. The oil, unbroken emulsion and gas accumulate in the upper portion of zone 24. The gas layer 53 thickness here is governed by verticallocation of outlet pipe 25 in partition 2S. The oil layer thickness is governed by height of inverted vented U water drain 52. The partially treated oil, emulsion and gas pass on from zone 24 through pipe 25 at I to zone 28, repeating the aforedescribed process at J and K. The number -of Vsub zones in the wash chamber B required is governed by the particular job to do, and the lamount and type of emulsions to be handled at a given rate. In most oil treating cases two or three sub-wash zones are ample. The oil, containing little or no entrained water, with all emulsion completely broken, and gas are finally v discharged from chamber B into zone 18 of cham- Iber C at L through perforated outlet 8l at the bottom of the pipe 29. The oil seeks the stratum 32 above the level of the water or brine and the gas goes on up to zone 19. The oil passes horizontally through perforated partitions 33 and 33',

through filter section 80 dropping out any eni trained Water it might have into water stratum 43|.

lWhen gas accumulates in zone 35 it forces the oil level down, allowing the float of valve 84 to drop,

thus automatically opening the valve which ex- Vhausts gas to any desired destination. If a float actuated valve is not usedfthen gas must pass with clean oil out at the perforated outlet 34.

.The clean hot oil (and possibly gas) leaves Athrough perforated outlet 34,v and passes through pipe 36 and on to outside jacket annu- -lus 4 of the heat exchange A3 at inlet 31 at point N. Here in this outside jacket annulus the hot clean oil gives up part of its heat through wall 3 to the incoming untreated fluids, thus conserving this heat and effecting desired cooling of treated oil, and gives up other heat to the atmosphere through wall or outer jacket, thus effecting further desired cooling of clean oil. The

clean voil leaves outer annulus at outlet 38 at point O, going directly to stock tank storage. All through the treating process the gas layer serves a very essential purpose of sealing water removing pipes to permit automatic and continuous withdrawal of Water without danger of oil carryover or flooding. The gas also exerts the desired degree of pressure throughout the entire system, forcing fluids to be treated from the zone of highest pressure through successive zones in which the pressure is lower.

(b) Water flow Hot Water or brine returns from the sides of the heating zone I8 down to pipe 39 in partition l2 at point P (Fig. 4). The water passes rst downwardly, thenup and out pipe 39 at outlet 11 to be mixed with incoming oil, emulsion, water and gas in and from spreader 9. All of the water that then falls out of the oil-emulsion layer l in the free water knockout chamber settles down into zone 40 where it is picked up by the water outlet pipe 4| at Q. The brine passes outl of the tank at 42, up and over inverted U 44 which is gas vented through flexible conduit 41. The vertical location of the top or horizontal conduit portion ofthe U 44 governs the oil-water level in heating zones I8 and I9. The water leaves the U pipe 44 at R, passes down into the horizontal return pipe 46 at S through length of riser pipe shown as X'. This vertical length of pipe X constitutes a liquid seal or resistance that forces the gas and oil to pursue the path heretofore described through the spreaders and wash zones. The length X' extending below the water outlet 4l is determined by the resistance to flow of oil and gas through the perforated spreaders and wash zones that will prevail in the system. If this resistance is 5 pounds per square inch, then X should be greater than 5/0.434 or 11.3 feet (as one foot of water head is equivalent to 0.434 lbs. per square inch). This design is governed by the neness of oil spreaders 23, 21 and 8|, and by the maximum iiow rate of oil, emulsion and gas through them. Should a sudden surplus of gas be liberated in heating chamber gas zone 2U, then if spreaders are too resistant to this gas and the flow of oil, the gas pressure would build up enough to overcome liquid seal X' and the surplus gas would be discharged with the water through pipe 46. This is a very desirable feature, as it acts as a surplus gas outlet from the heating zone, avoiding gas overloading of the wash zones by by-passing them as does the Water in pipe 4B. Any surplus gas that passesthrough the pipe 46 with the water enters the gas conduit cylinder 82 at T through pipe riser 49. The gas bubbles up through the water coniined in the cylinder or conduit 82 on into gas zone 19 without agitating or stirring up either the oil stratum 32 or the water stratum 3| in the chamber 18. Water leaves the conduit S2 at outlet 59 near the bottom thereof, passing thence through the larger lower opening 59 and through the smaller perforations in the plate 33 located above the openings 59. It will be noted that the conduit 82 discharges into the midst of gas zone 19 above the -oil level, to assure that no gas discharges into then into the main Water conduitl 46 at Y and A. The water or brine then passes with other water drawn directly from the knockout chamber A2 through riser 49 as already described. The inverted U pipes 52 and 56 are gas vented by top openings 53 and 5'I. The water outlets of the pipes 52 and 56 are preferably inside individual wash zones of chamber B and are attached to manway lids 'I0 and 'II so as to make them individually removable for adjustment or alteration or to permit cleaning the wash chambers. They may also be employed outside the vessel if so desired. Liquid seals in pipes 54 and 58 extending below the bottom of the treater tank, serve the same function a's the length X already described.

Water passes through the opening 53 leading from the chamber 18 into the filter section 80 where entrained oil is iiltered out and joins the oil stratum 32 above. The water goes on through the horizontally aligned opening 59' and also through the perforations in the partition 33' above the openings 59 to nal settling zone C3. At the point U at the bottom of zone C3 Water is picked up by withdrawal pipe 60, passes out and over vented inverted U 6I at V, then through diaphragm outlet valve 63 at point W to any desired disposal. Inverted U 6I is made adjustable by unions 62 and iiexible gas Vent line 64 which ties to gas opening 65 for venting. Valve 63 opens when sui-licient pressure head is built up to overcome the weighted diaphragm therein.

The invention has been described in detail for the purpose of illustration, but it will be obvious that numerous modications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

It has been found that many new and unexpected advantages occur from my novel structure and mode of operation, some of which will now be pointed out in detail, While others will be apparent to those skilled in the art without further elaboration.

ADVANTAGES OF INVENTION (A) Free water knockout structure and arrangement (l) By placing the free Water knockout chamber A2 beneath the heating element I'I in a horizontal treater no sacrifice is made in the capacity of the heating zone or of heating element. Thus there is saved an appreciable length of vessel that otherwise would be required for a separate free Water knockout chamber (as described in my pending application Serial No. 713,708). In the present device the length of vessel A formerly devoted solely to the heating chamber'is serving a dual purpose, both functions of which enhance each other.

(2) Placing the free water knockout chamber A2 beneath the heating element I'I permits the gravitational return of hot treated out water from the heating chamber to the free water knockout zone, giving this horizontal system the same or similar advantages that formerly existed only in a vertical treater as described in my Patent No. 2,261,101.

(3) My novel arrangement of having hot water return pipes 39 curve from vertical to horizontal and back upwards permits introduction of hot water returned from the heating zone above the partition I2 into the midst of the emulsion zone without danger of the emulsion flowing through the pipe in countercurrent to the water, as would be the case should pipe 39 simply point down into y14 the emulsion layer from kthe partition I2` functioning as the pipe I4 functions. Y (4) By having the oil and emulsion spill fro knockout zone IU below the partition I2 to heating zone I8 above the partition through pipes I4 leading into perforated Vspreaders I6 a simpler Y and more eiiicient structure is provided than that taught in my Patent No. 2,261,101, which rst disclosed this method of a delayed emulsion zone in a free water knockout beneath a heating zone by a projected spreader means. The present device is cheaper and easier'to construct. It permits more thorough and iiexible' contacting of oil-emulsion streamlets with the heating element, as one or more horizontal spreaders may be easily tted into this scheme in any iloor pattern desired to fit a particuar designed'heating element. As many up-pipes I4 as desired may be placed anywhere desired in partition I2 to introduce this emulsion into any spreader pattern above on partition I2.

(5) Accumulating entrained gas under floor I2 and allowing surplus gas to pass up through conduit 83 into gas zone 20 is a novel and distinctly advantageous construction. This arrangement permits admission of normally surplus gas volumes Without undue agitation of the free water knockout zone or the oil-Water zones of the heating chamber. It also obviates the heating of this ga's as would be the case were it bubbled up through the heating zone. The comparatively large area of emulsion surface under partition I2 also aids materially in more eiiicient and thorough separation of gas from emulsion, this being possible because of gas withdrawal through conduit 83.

(6) It has been found that elongated, perforated, serrated, slotted or porous pickup and spreader conduits have proved very efficient in givin-g undisturbed and uniform pickup of watei1 and thorough undisturbed lspreading of incoming. fluids as described byA spreader 9 and water pickup'4l in this disclosure. Thisdesign of the horizontal free water knockout lends itself very well to the use of such spreading anddraining devices. Y r f (7) By having the water drain. conduit 4I attached only to manhole plate 42, it may be easily removed for cleaning and thus givek more access to the free water knockout chamber for ridding ityof accumulated sediment.

(B) Advantages of general water removal arrangement (1) It has been found that the large volumes of water removedfrom the oil in the free water knockout chambers usually contain appreciable amounts of entrained oil unless thel knockout chamber is extremely large or unless the water is passed through some sort of deterrent or lter medium for removing this oil. The design of compact, economical pressure operatedV treating systems seeks the smallest possible knockout chamber, supplementingthis with a filter means. It is not practicable to put a filter medium in the free water knockout chamber presentedl in thisy disclosure, so it proves advantageous to return the water to the treating system further along the flow plan, after the separated oil portion has been washed and ballied, using a commonV filter for both oil and water. Also, by returning this free water back into the system, all water may be finally discharged through a single control valve as shown. It is always good design'to have as few filter sectionsv as possible as it'lessensconstruction cost and maintenance, and my method and arrangement follow this by having one good lter surface for oil, water and gas. Having one filter section (sub-zone C2) suffice is due to returning all removed Waters to the main treating system just ahead of this filter section.

(2) In my device all Water removing means are automatic, continuous, and maintain constant levels of oil and Water without resort to floats, valves, or hand controlling.

(3) The liquid seal arrangement in zone B on the Water drop pipes in conjunction'with vented inverted U Water drains is an importantfeature of the Water removal and return method. Without the use of floats or valves, otherwise required, Water may be withdrawn from each zone free of oil ooding, allowing the oil to now by pressure through restricted Wash zones independently of Water incurnbrance; with said Water being returned to the system in sub-zone C1 for iinal ltering and settling in sub-zones C2 and C3 along with the baffled, washed and de-emulsined oil. This arrangement offers the advantage of increased efficiency and capacity for a given size treating system as compared with conventional gravity flow systems.

(4) By removing Water from each Wash zone as it is separated from the oil and emulsion the chances for re-emulsiication of oil and water in succeeding Wash-dispersal zones are greatly minimized or eliminated completely. It is not broadly novel to remove Water from each baille zone by hand controlled valves or gravitational flow Where oil moves from one baiiie to the .next (usually in vertical travel) by virtue of difference in density of oil and water; but to do so as aforedescribed in a system owing under induced pressures and continuously and automatically is a distinctive feature of the present invention, As described in my pending application Serial No. r113,708, this pressure flow Washing, dispersing, and baiiiing oiers much more efficiency and capacity for Washing and emulsion breaking Ydue to more thorough contacting of emulsion with the hot water Washing medium because more ne streams can be formed from the oil and emulsion than is possible in gravity flow systems.

(5) Removal of water from each zone as it is separated further reduces the fluid and emulsion load on each succeeding wash zone until the emulsion is nally and completely resolved into pure oil.

(6) By having all the Wash zone internal Water removal conduits solely attached to manway lids as herein disclosed they may easily be removed for scaling or cleaning, giving better access to wash zones for scraping and cleaning.

('7) By having all return water discharge into agas conduit flume or riser 82 as shown entrapped gas and excess gas volumes flowing with the Water are permitted to re-enter the treating system and pass up to the gas zone without disturbing theoil or Water strata in the settling zone.

(C) Advantages of filter arrangement (1) The feature of providing a segment C2 in a horizontal cylinder formed by two vertical, perforated bailies or screens comprises a simple andy elective structure for performing the filtering operation in an emulsion treating system.

(2) By having manholes 61 and 63 at the top and bottom of the filter section vC2 insertion and removal of lilter medium is facilitated.

(3) The simple and undisturbed horizontal oW of oil and water through the lter in sepa- '16 rate streams, as taught in this disclosure, permits filtered out oil from the-Water layer V3i to join the upper oil stratum 32, and coalescednltered out Water from oil in layer 32 to `ioin the lower Water stratum 3 i. c

(4) lf, as in the case with extremely heavy asphaltic oils, more filtering capacity than that herein illustrated is required, vertical partitions S3 and 33' may be spaced as Widely apart as experience proves necessary, adding other top and bottom manways to facilitate insertion and removal of the iiltering medium as may be required. No additional partitions would be necessary.

(5) It has been found advantageous to follow the general method of roughly separating the oil and water by washing and settling means, then reioining them With minimum vdisturbance in contacting, but separately owing oil and Water strata s?. and 3i respectively for final treatment, with a common filtering of yboth streams in zone C2 if necessary, or merely common settling if filtering or deterring prove unnecessary. This obtains because, without disturbancey or undue agitation, oil and water will not mix or emulsify once they are thoroughly separated. The present method of roughly separating out the Water in chamber A, thoroughly treating the separated emulsion in chamber B, then recom'bining them in zone C1 of chamber C in separate undisturbed strata for nal ltering or settling, or both, constitutes an important feature or the invention. Previous systems that undertake to nlter oil for the purpose of removing entrained oil or other foreign matter do so with independent filters for both oil and water, thereby complicating and hampering the ediciency of their process and failing to benefit from the advantages shown in this disclosure.

. (6) My improved 'filtering arrangement in an emulsion treating system also permits mist extraction from gas with the same lter section used for the oil and Water, allowing the filtered out oil entrainrnent from the gas to return directly to the oil stratum.

(D) Advantages of gas handling arrangement (l) By venting gas through the pipe 83 as described,` unwanted agitation of the emulsion settling zone in the free Water knockout chamber C2 is greatly minimized.

(2) By venting this gas thusly through pipe S3 agitation of oil-Water strata'in the heating zone A1, is also minimized, thereby permitting important use V of the heating chamber as an additional settling chamber for dropping out Water, thusenhancing the efficiency of the free water knockout chamber.

(3) Avoidance of bubbling surplus gas up through hot oil in the heating chamber minimizesagitation of the oil and weathering or dripping of light ends and vapors from the oil.

(4) Bypassing gas through conduit/83 through the heating zone saves on fuel and unnecessary loading of the heating system by avoiding hea-ting of the gas.

(5) Allowing surplus gas to leave the heating chamber with Water only through pipes 4|, 42 and Lili, bypassing succeeding Wash zones, avoids undue turbulence and the cutting'elfect that gas Wouldv cause when passing with oil, emulsion and Water through perforated or porous spreaders in said Wash zones.

(6) Ete-introducing this surplus gas With Water through pipe d8 into the gas conduit flume 82 permits the gas to pass safely through the oil- 117; Water settling zone C with minimum disturbance to either.

(7) Filtering gas, along with oil and water, through a common filter or impediment in zone C2 knocks out of the gas entrained oil, foam or mist, allowing these substances'to rejoin the oil stratum 32 .immediately beneath the gas stratum 19. Many oils have been found to be extremely subject to foaming when they are heated and when their gases are released. Separation orv saving of this oil foam has proved to be a diiiicult problem to handle with conventional treating and separating. systems. gas filtering arrangement has proved to be a very adequate answer to this problem. 1f desired, a layer of glasswool may be used to advantage on top of Wood excelsior in the filter section C2, the gas passing through the glasswool, and the oil and water through the wood excelsior. Glasswool willv not pack or become Watersoaked and settle, as will wood excelsior, and it has proved to be a most excellent mist extracting medium for gas.

.(8). A simple -fioat controlled -valve arrangement 84 for removing gas from the system is shown which' is adequate and'easy to remove for cleaning or inspection by attaching it solely to the lid of manway 85. If, for any reason, an oil and gas separator should be required ahead of the treating system herein described, then this gas discharge valve might not be required, as the small amount of entrainedgas carried into the'system from theoil and gas separator could then overiiow through pipe 34 with the clean oil and travel with the same oil to the stock storage tank, thereby reabsorbing all vapors contained in the gas backinto the cooled clean oil.

(9) A further advantage of this gas handling arrangement is the large surface area available in a horizontal systemsuch as this forfseparating gas from the oil and dropping the entrained oil out of the gas. All of the area beneath the free water knockout partition l2 isfavailable for gas separation, as is all the area above the oil stratum in the heatingchamber and 'all the oil stratum depicted as `32 in' this disclosure. This advantage obtains without sacrice to the good emulsion treating features of the system, as this gas arrangement definitely enhances the treating method herein described.

Iclaim: f

1. An emulsion treater comprising an elongated horizontally disposed tubular casing comprising a plurality of separate chambers in horizontal alignment, including at one end a combined heating and free water vknockout chamber, Vand at the `other lend a filtering settling chamber, and an intermediate washing and baffling chamber, substantially upright partitions separating the horizontallyV aligned chambers, a horizontal partition separating the combined heating and knockout chamber `into upperand lower heating and free Water knockout zones respectively,A means for supplying under-.pressure luidto ,be treated to the free water knockout zone, restricted conduit'V means for conductingl fiuid undergoing treatment through said partitions, and means for separately withdrawing oil and waterfrom the treater. g

2. An emulsionA treater comprising an elongated horizontally disposed Atubular casing; upright partitions separating the casing into plurality of chambers in horizontal alignment, par-Y titions separating said horizontally 4aligned chambers, said casing including vat, one end 'f .a

My improvedl esl . maining water therefrom, then rejoining the sep` and baffling chamber, said combined heating and i z knockout chamber including a horizontal partition dividing a lower water knockout zone from a superposed heating zone, means for withdrawing hot clean oil from the upper portion of the filtering and settling chamber, means for supi plying fluid to be treated to the Water knockout zone, and a heat interchanger substantially completely surrounding and in close proximity to the treater at the heating end thereof, having an outer jacket for receiving the hot oil from the` i filtering and settling chamber, and an inner jacket for receiving the uid to be treated prior to its entrance into the treater, whereby the incoming iiuid is preheated and the outgoing oil is cooled prior to its passage to storage.

3. A method of treating mixed fluid from an oil well, which fiuid includes water, oil and emulsion, vwhich comprises first separating free water from the oil and emulsion, then subjecting the oil and emulsion to heat treatment and washing to resolve lthe emulsion and remove any rearated out water with the treated oil in superposed horizontally moving strata for final iiota-` tion of oil from the water.

4. A method of treating emulsion in a horizontal treater, which comprises breakingl the emulsion-in a series of steps, removing from the treater water treated out in each step, and recombining the removed water with the finished -oil in superposed horizontally moving strata within the treater for final flotation of oil from the water, and settling of entrained water from the oil.

5. A method of treating mixed fiuid from an oil well, which iiuid includes Water, oil and emulsion, which comprises rst separating free water from the oilv and emulsion, then subjecting the oil and emulsion to heat treatment and washing to resolve the emulsion and remove any remaining water therefrom, then 'rejoining the separated out water with the treated oil in superposed horizontally moving strata for final flotation vof oil from the Water and filtering the oil and water strata during their horizontal movement.

6. A method of treating emulsion, which comprises breaking the emulsion in a series of steps, removing water treated out in each step, and recombining the removed water with the finished oil in superposedY horizontally moving strata for final notation of oil from the Water, and the settling of entrained Water from the oil, and filtering rthe oil and water strata during their horizontal movement. l

'7. A method as set forth in claim 4 wherein gas is separated from the emulsion in each step in aplurality of separate zones, and a portion of the removedgas is removed with the water in each step, While a portion of the gas is maintained with'the oil, thereby insuring the mainftenance of a gas seal in each zone, while avoiding overloading of said zone with gas. ,v

8. An emulsion treater including a plurality of horizontallyv aligned wash chambers for separation of oil, gas and Water yfrom the emulsion, upright partition means separating the-charnbers, restricted conduits connecting said chambers and extending througheach-- of said par-.- tition means, and means'foryvithdrawing water from each chamber comprising gas vented liquid aeonoo 19 seal risers, one in each chamber', each comprising an inverted U-tube having one leg opening at the bottom of the chamber to permit water to enter, and having a second leg connected thereto -near the top of the riser and extending downwardly through the bottom of the chamber for discharge of water, and each having a gas vent pipe extending into the upper portion of the chamber.

. 9. In an emulsion treater comprising a closed horizontallydispcsed casing, a combined heating and free water knockout chamber adjacent one end of the casing, an upright partition separating the heating and free water knockout chamber from the remainder of the treat-er, a horizontal partition separating the combined heating and free water knockout chamber into an upper heatingk zone and a lower iree water knockout zone, means for admitting fluid to be treated to the free water knockout zone, heating means within the upper chamber, means for passing fluid from which free Water has been separated through the partition into contact with the heating unit of said heating chamber whereby the iiuid is separated into water, oily and gaseous portions, means for maintaining a controlled liquid level within the heating chamber, means for passing the oily fluid from the heating chamber through the upright partition for further treatment of said oily fluid, and an equalizing pipe extending from the top of the heating chamber to a space justbelow the horizontal partition in the free water knockout zone.

10. An emulsion treater having an upper heating chamber and a lower free water knockout chamber, a horizontal partition separating said chambers, means for admitting emulsion to be treated to the knockout chamber beneath the partition, means for maintaining a gas zone below the partition, means for passing emulsion from which free water has been separated from the lower to the upper chamber, means for returning hot treated-out-water from the heating chamber to the free water knockout chamber, means for withdrawing the treated emulsion from the upper portion of the heating chamber,

means for maintaining a layer of gas under pressure in a gas zone above the liquid level in the heating chamber, and means, including a pipe opening just beneath the partition and extending into the gas zone in the heating chamber, for permitting excess gas separated out in the knockout chamber to pass from the gas zone below the partition to said upper gas zone.

1l. An emulsion treater comprising a horizontally disposed tubular casing having an imperforate horizontal partition forming an upper heating chamber having a heating unit therein and a lower free water knockout chamber, means for admitting emulsion to be treated; to the knockout chamber beneath the partition, emulsion transfer means for passing emulsion from which free water has been separated from the lower to the upper chamber, means for returning hot treated out water from the heating chamber to the free water knockout chamber, means for. withdrawing water from the lower portion of the chamber, and means for withdrawing the treated emulsion from the upper portion `of the heating chamber, said emulsion transfer means between the upper and lower chambers comprisinga pipe passing through the partition and having an inlet opening spaced substantially below the partition and having agas discharge opening intermediate said partition and said inlet opening. y f

l2. An emulsion treater comprising a horizontally disposed tubular casing, an imperforate horizontal partition forming a heating chamber in the upper portion of said casing and a free water knockout chamber in the lower portion of said casing, means for admitting emulsion to be treated to the water knockout chamber, meansv in said knockout chamber for separating the free water from the emulsion, emulsion transfer means for passing emuision from which free Water has been separated, from the water knockout chamber to the heating chamber, heating means in the heating chamber for separating additional water from the emulsion, gravity means for returning the separated out water from the heating chamber to the Water knockout chamber, means for withdrawing emulsion from the heating chamber for further treatment, means for withdrawing' water from the water knockout chamber, said emulsion transfer means between the upper and lower chambers comprising a pipe passing through the partition and having an inlet opening spaced substantially below the partition and having a gas discharge opening intermediate said partition and said inlet opening, means for maintaining a layer of gas under pressure in a gas zone above the liquid level in the heating chamber, and pipe means for conveying gas separated out in the knockout zone to said upper gas zone.

13. An emulsion treater comprising a single elongated horizontally disposed tubular casing having a plurality of chambers in horizontal alignment, including at one end a combined heating and knockout chamber, and at the other end a filtering and settling chamber, and an intermediate washing and baflling chamber, substantially vertical partitions separating the horizontally aligned chambers, a horizontal partition dividing the combined heating and knockout chamber into separate superposed free water knockout and heating chambers, means for withdrawing hot clean oil from the upper portion of the iiltering and settling chamber, heating means within the heating zone, means for passing liiuid tc be. treated successively through the water knockout zone, the heating zone, the washing and baiiling chamber and the settling chamber, means for withdrawing hot treated oil from the upper portion of the settling chamber, means for withdrawing water from the lower portion of the settling chamber, and a heat interchanger substantially completely surrounding and in close proximity to the treater at the heating end thereof, having an outer jacket for receiving the hot oil from the filtering and settling chamber, and an inner jacket for receiving the fluid to be treated prior to its entrance into the treater, whereby the incoming fluid is preheated and the outgoing oil is cooled prior to its passage to storage.

14. Anemulsion treater comprising a single elongated horizontally disposed tubular casing having a piurality of chambers in horizontal alignment, including at one end a combined heating and knockout chamber, and at the other end a filtering and settling chamber, and an intermediate washing and baflling chamber, said combined heating and knockout chamber including a horizontal partition dividing a lower water knockout zone from a superposed heating zone, substantially vertical partitions separating the horizontally aligned chambers, means for withdrawing hot clean oil from the upper portion of the ltering and settling chamber, means for supplying fluid to be treated to the water knockout zone, and a heat interchanger substantially completely surrounding and-in close proximity to A the treater at the heating end thereof, having an outer jacket for receiving the hot oil from the filtering and settling chamber, and an innerjacket for receiving the fluid to be treated prior to its y entrance into the treater, whereby the incoming* iluid is preheated and the outgoing oil is cooled prior to its passage to storage, means for passzone, means for maintaining a pressure differential in said chambers decreasing in the successive chambers from the heating andknockout chamber to the other end of the treater, andy means for successively passing the fluidundergoing treatment from the heating zone tol the -lV ing fluid from which free water has been separated from said knockout zone to the heating" vsettling chamber under the influence of said pressure differential zone.

15. An oil-emulsion treater comprising a single elongated horizontally disposed tubular cas`Y ing comprising a plurality ofchambers in'horizontal alignment, including at one end-acombined heating and knockout chamber, and at through `the free water knockout, heating and settling chambers, means for-withdrawing water from the knockout chamber and discharging'r it into the lower portion of the filteringand-settling chamber, and means for separately withdrawing substantially water freeoil and oil free water from the system from the settling chamber.

tal casing, means for forming a gas pressure zone at the top thereof, said casing having a heating chamber at one end thereof,l heating means therein, a settling chamber at the lother end, and a washing chamber intermdiatethe heating and settling chamber and communicating with each other, upright partitions separating said chambers, all saidchambers communicating at the top with said gas zone,vmeans vfor passing under pressure fluid undergoing treatment successively through the heating, washing zones, partitions separating said zones into sepa--A rate chambers, meansfor passing under gradually diminishing pressure an emulsion fluidr to be treated successively through said zone for separation of gas and water from the oi1- in said fluid, and means, including a series of inverted U-tubes, located; in saidl successive chambers, for withdrawing water in separate streams from said separate chambers, the water inlet of each of said tubes being in the lower portion of its chamber, the leg including the water outlet extending through and below its respective chamber, and eachA having a', gas-vent pipe extend- 'L25 the other end a settling chamber, substantially "4o 16. An emulsion treater including a horizoning to the upper portion of its zone, whereby gas zones of successively diminishing pressures are provided at the upper portion of each chamber.

18. An emulsion treater comprising a closed tank having a horizontal partition dividing the tank into an upper heating chamber and a lower free waterknockout chamber, a heating unit within the upper chamber, means, including a conduit discharging into the lower chamber below-the partition, for supplyingv under pressure emulsion fluid to be treated to the free water knockout chamberv to permit gravity separation of the free water and the uid being treated lwith-consequent formation of a lower water layer and a superposed layer of emulsion beneath the partition, emulsion transfer means including one or-A more conduits extending through the partition having an inlet spaced below the partition to Apermit upward passage of emulsion from which the free water has been separated into the upper chamber to be subjected to heat-treatment to effect a breakdown of the emulsion into oily and water portions, means ffor withdrawing the ',oilyporticnfrom the upper chamber, and water return means Vfor transferring separated out water from the upper chamber to the lower chamber, said water return means comprising a conduit l extending through the partition and discharging at a point above the level of the inlet of the emulsion transfer means, said pipe being upwardly bent intermediate its ends to prevent reverse passage of emulsion therethrough.

19. An emulsion treater comprising a closed tank having an imperforate horizontal partition dividing the tank into upper and lower chambers, means for supplying heat to the up- 'per chamber, means for supplying under pressure emulsion fluid to be 'treated to the lower chamber to permit gravity separation of free water from the fluid, emulsion transfer means permitting emulsion from the lower chamber to pass to the upper chamber for heat treatment to break the emulsion, said transfer means comprising a pipe extending through the partition and having itsvinlet spaced below the level of the partition, said pipe having an opening below the partition and above the inlet to permit escape of gas, the pipe being imperforate between said gas escape opening and said partition whereby an insulating blanket of gas is provided below the partition and separating the upper and lower chambers of said tank, venting means .for releasing excess gas from beneath the partition, and means for returning the sep-arated out watery portion released from the emulsion in the upper chamber to the lower chamber.

20. An emulsion treater comprising a closed tank having an imperforate horizontal partition dividing the tank into upper and lower chambers, means for supplying heat to the upper chamber, means for supplying under` pressure emulsion fluid to be treated to the lower chamber to permit gravity separation of free water from the fluid, emulsion transfer means comprising a pipe extending through the partition and-having its linlet spaced below the level of the partition, said pipe having an opening below the partition and above the inlet to'perfor releasing excess gas which accumulates beneath said partition comprising a pipe extending into the gas zone beneath the partition and disfcharging into the upper part of the upper chamber, and means for returning the separated out water from the upper chamber to the lower chamber.

2l. An emulsion treater comprising an elongated, horizontally disposed tubular casing, vertical partition means dividing the casing into separate treating chambers in horizontal alignment including at one end a settling chamberV and at the other end a combined heating and" free water knockout chamber, ahorizontal partition separating said combined chamber' into superposed free water knockout and emulsionL heating zones, means for supplying under` pressure emulsion fluid to be treated to the free water knockout chamber to permit separation or free water from the emulsion, conduit means; for

transferring water from the bottom of the free water knockout chamber to the settling chamber, an emulsion transfer pipe extending through the horizontal partition to permit passage of,v emu-lsion from the free water knockout zonel to the heating zone to eiect breakdown of said emulsion, means for returning separated out Walter from the emulsion treating zone to the free water knockout zone, restricted conduit; means4 for transferring heated emulsion fluid from said emulsion heating zone to saidl settling chamber; and means for separately withdrawing oil and water from the settling chamber atA different levels.

22. An emulsion treater comprising a closed tank having wall portions defining;V a settling chamber, means for supplying under pressure to said chamber fluid to be treated containing gas, water and oil to permit separation` into superposed water, oil and gas layers, hydrostatic means for maintaining a liquid level within said tank, said means including anv oil discharge pipe having its inlet near the top of.' the tan-k` but spaced below the same and a water withdrawal pipe having its inlet near the bottom ofthe tank 4 and including an inverted U-tube to maintainl the liquid level, and means for withdrawing surplus gas from the zone above the oil level comprising a conduit opening within the chamber above the level of the outletl of the oil with-` drawal pipe, said conduit` leading to the exte-n d rior of the tank, a control valve,` witliing` said pipe.

portion thereof, substantially verticalpartititons separating the casing into successive horizontally,.- disposed chambers for performing diverse treating operations upon the uidundergoing treatr ment, said horizontally disposedV chambers in.- cluding a combined heatingY andfreewaterknookout chamber, a horizontalV partition separating the combined chamberA intoS upper and lower heating and free water knockout chambers respectively, means for passing under pressure uid undergoing treatment successively through the; free water knockout and heating chambersand thence through the remaining' chambersy of the,l series for further treatment, means for; sepaf- 76- rately withdrawing oil andwater from theI last chamber of theseries at different levels, andy means for; returning -watersepa-rated out in prevviouschambers of theseries to the last charnberof the series-to permitnal separation of oil` therefrom.

tending from top to bottom of said casing, said partitions having restricted openings to provide communication between the successive chambers,

means for passingA huidundergoing` treatment.

undery pressure through successive chambers for separation of water, oiland', gas from theV fluid, means for separately withdrawing.` clean oil4 and oil free water from thel lastV treating chamber of the series, means for-withdrawing water separated out in previous chambers of; the series from the treater and for returning the same to the last chamber of the series to permit recovery of any remaining traces of oil in the previously separated out water, and hydrostatic means for maintaining a controlled liquid level in all the chambers of the treater.

25. An emulsion treatercomprising a single elongated horizontally disposed tubular casing having a plurality of separateA chambers arranged in horizontal alignment for performing diverseA treating operations. upon the :duid undergoing treatment, said chambers includingv a combined heating and knockout chamberY and a separating and settling chamber, upright partition means separating said horizontally aligned chambers, ahorizontally disposed partition separating the heating and knockout chamberv into a lower free water knockout portion and an upper heating portion, heating meanswithin the upper zone, means for passing under pressure.

emulsion fluid to be treated successively through the free water knockout and heating portions of thecombined` heating and knockout, chamber and thence to the settling chamber, means for withdrawing water separated out-in Vthe freer water knockout chamber and discharging itinto thelower portion of the separating and settling cl'lmlber,y andV means for-separately withdrawing. oil and water from different levels of' the settling chamber.

26, The processl of operating an emulsion treaterincludingn a series of separate horizontally aligned treating chambers enclosed in a single horizontally disposed casing, which process comprises passing emulsion fluid toV be treated successively through said chambersV and subjecting iiuidy undergoing treatmentto successive hea-ting. washing and settling operationsin sep-Y arate chambers,l withdrawing substantially all of the oil obtained from said fluid from the-final chamber of the` series and separately.- withdrawing substantially all free water from* the same RANSOMEA W.

(References on: following page) 25 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 'lle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 Number Name Date 1,052,963 Reid Feb. 11, 1913 1,396,860 Lorraine Nov. 15, 1921 1,559,035 Eglof et al. Oct. 27, 1925 1,624,092 Coleman Apr. 12, 1927 10 1,648,558 Meston et al Nov. 8, 1927 1,897,398 Raymond Feb. 14, 1933 Number Name Date lJustus June 9, 1936 Burt June 28, 1938 Millard Nov. 7, 1939 Erwin Oct. 28, 1941 Lovelady et al Feb. 29, 1944 Walker Sept. 4, 1945 Walker Apr. 9, 1946 Walker et al May 6, 1947 Elliot June 3, 1947 Walker Jan. 4, 1949 

